Alfa Romeo seeks restart in Malaysia

Those were the days: 1972 Alfa Romeo Montreal, Italy’s revenge for the Jaguar E-Type and the Porsche 911

Italian car maker Fiat, manufacturer of the iconic Alfa Romeo brand, said it is in negotiations with Malaysian trading and car assembling company DRB-Hicom to push sales in the country.

Since 2005, Alfa Romeo’s import license in Malaysia has been held by Sime Darby, but the group said last week that it will discontinue distributing the brand due to disappointing sales. In 2012, just 38 Alfa Romeo vehicles have been registered in Malaysia, and only 18 through August 2013. Total sales of new cars in Malaysia in 2012 were 611.000.

Fiat said it also wanted to look into the component manufacturing and assembling capabilities of DRB-Hicom, which assembles or distributes top global brands such as Honda, Isuzu, Volkswagen, Audi, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Mercedes-Benz. It was also exploring the possibility of introducing mass market cars like the trendy 500 subcompact and budget oriented Panda under the Fiat marque in Malaysia.

With regards to Alfa Romeo, the brand has certainly seen better days. Well known for its stylish design, the brand had considerable success in the 1980s and 1990s with models such as the Alfasud, the Spider or the 156 and 166 limousines, but was never known for outstanding quality but rather for high maintenance and repair costs. Today, the portfolio comprises just three models, the Giulietta, the MiTo and the 4C, which shares its platform with the Maserati Ghibli, and annual sales stand at around 170,000 globally. For 2014, a new SUV has been announced, and 2015 should bring a new edition of the once successful Spider.

[caption id="attachment_18822" align="alignleft" width="300"] Those were the days: 1972 Alfa Romeo Montreal, Italy's revenge for the Jaguar E-Type and the Porsche 911[/caption] Italian car maker Fiat, manufacturer of the iconic Alfa Romeo brand, said it is in negotiations with Malaysian trading and car assembling company DRB-Hicom to push sales in the country. Since 2005, Alfa Romeo's import license in Malaysia has been held by Sime Darby, but the group said last week that it will discontinue distributing the brand due to disappointing sales. In 2012, just 38 Alfa Romeo vehicles have been registered in Malaysia, and only 18 through August...

Those were the days: 1972 Alfa Romeo Montreal, Italy’s revenge for the Jaguar E-Type and the Porsche 911

Italian car maker Fiat, manufacturer of the iconic Alfa Romeo brand, said it is in negotiations with Malaysian trading and car assembling company DRB-Hicom to push sales in the country.

Since 2005, Alfa Romeo’s import license in Malaysia has been held by Sime Darby, but the group said last week that it will discontinue distributing the brand due to disappointing sales. In 2012, just 38 Alfa Romeo vehicles have been registered in Malaysia, and only 18 through August 2013. Total sales of new cars in Malaysia in 2012 were 611.000.

Fiat said it also wanted to look into the component manufacturing and assembling capabilities of DRB-Hicom, which assembles or distributes top global brands such as Honda, Isuzu, Volkswagen, Audi, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Mercedes-Benz. It was also exploring the possibility of introducing mass market cars like the trendy 500 subcompact and budget oriented Panda under the Fiat marque in Malaysia.

With regards to Alfa Romeo, the brand has certainly seen better days. Well known for its stylish design, the brand had considerable success in the 1980s and 1990s with models such as the Alfasud, the Spider or the 156 and 166 limousines, but was never known for outstanding quality but rather for high maintenance and repair costs. Today, the portfolio comprises just three models, the Giulietta, the MiTo and the 4C, which shares its platform with the Maserati Ghibli, and annual sales stand at around 170,000 globally. For 2014, a new SUV has been announced, and 2015 should bring a new edition of the once successful Spider.